Real-time updates are a must-have feature in many modern web applications. From chat applications to online marketplaces, providing users with the ability to receive immediate updates is crucial to creating a seamless experience.

One way to implement real-time updates in a web application is by using WebSockets. WebSockets provide a full-duplex communication channel between the client and server, allowing for real-time data transfer in both directions. In this article, we'll go over how to use WebSockets to implement real-time updates in a web application.

1. Getting started with websockets

To get started with WebSockets, you'll need to use a WebSockets library, such as socket.io for Node.js or Pusher for PHP. These libraries provide a convenient API for working with WebSockets, making it easy to get up and running quickly.

1. Setting Up the Server

To set up the server for WebSockets, you'll need to create a WebSockets endpoint and configure the server to listen for WebSockets connections. The following code sets up a WebSockets endpoint using Socket.io in Node.js:

const io = require("socket.io")(server);

io.on("connection", socket => {
  console.log("A user connected");
});

This code sets up a WebSockets endpoint using the socket.io library and listens for connections. When a user connects, the code logs a message to the console.

1. Setting Up the Client

Next, you'll need to set up the client to connect to the WebSockets endpoint. The following code sets up a WebSockets connection using it in the browser:

const socket = io();

socket.on("connect", () => {
  console.log("Connected to the server");
});

This code sets up a WebSockets connection to the server and listens for the connect event. When the client successfully connects to the server, the code logs a message to the console.

1. Sending and Receiving Messages

With the server and client set up, you can now send and receive messages over the WebSockets connection. The following code sends a message from the client to the server:

socket.emit("newMessage", { text: "Hello, World!" });

And the following code receives the message on the server:

io.on("newMessage", data => {
  console.log("Received message:", data);
});

This code sends a message from the client to the server using the emit method, and the server receives the message using the on method. When the server receives the message, it logs the data to the console.